I have an idea for a text adventure game (aka parser IF) creation system and need help with deciding on the path of least resistance for making it a reality.
It will be cross platform, written in Pascal and be able to produce source code in several programming languages. Something like a text only GameMaker/Nim hybrid.
The main program will initially run on Windows and Raspberry Pi (as they are the only platforms I currently own), but will be able to produce source code to compile on many more platforms.
I would like it to be able to create Pascal, Nim and Web Assembly code with the option to add more languages later. I'm particularly interested in supporting 8-bit retro tape-based machines (BBC B, MSX, Spectrum etc.) and possibly other text adventure creation systems.
I would also like the default language to be interpreted if possible, so that games can be tested more easily during the creation process. However, I'm not sure which language would be natively supported on the most platforms.
Writing an interpreter would be one way around this, but that would likely be complicated. I have seen a couple of books on creating an interpreter in Pascal, but they are part of a series that is not yet complete.
I did find a BASIC interpreter that was written in FreePascal and which also has a BASIC to FreePascal translation tool, so that might be an option.
Installing additional software should be optional, so that the creator can be tested without needing to install anything else (such as a compiler). Including command line tools that can run from anywhere would be okay though.
At this point, I'm still undecided whether the default should be an existing programming language with a specialised framework or a new domain specific language.
I do know that I want the system to be screen reader compatible and usable with almost any text editor, even if I do create a specialised IDE.
Does anyone have any insight on the best way to implement this project?